Against all odds
by aoi mizu no tenshi
Summary: She's a heavenly maiden, he's a blood stained samurai. It's been forbidden for their kind to be together... do they even have a chance? -Nalu AU-
1. Breaking the rules

**Against all odds**

* * *

-A Nalu AU inspired by Nanakoblaze's artwork where Lucy is dressed in a pink kimono and Natsu dressed as a samurai holding a bloody katana. (check out her tumblr account!) -

This is the first time I'd be writing an AU. Whenever I write it's usually set in my OTP's usual settings… so I'm not sure how this story would turn out. But after seeing Nanako-sempai's artwork, I can't help but put this down on paper. This is going to be another multi-chap story so I hope I'd be able to update this every week until I finish this…

Again FT does not belong to me... nor does the idea that Lucy is a Heavenly Maiden and Natsu is a Samurai (that belongs to Nanakoblaze-sempai hihi!)

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 **Chapter 1: Breaking the rules**

"Hime-sama..."

The blonde girl slowly turned to face her companion. She smiled gently at her hand maiden.

"It's fine Virgo. As long as no one knows, we'll be fine."

The pink haired, blue eyed maid sighed and stood closer to her charge. "Hime-sama, we shouldn't be here in the human realm. It is..."

"Forbidden. I know." the blonde grinned back, "It's fine Virgo... I just want to see the Sakura festival. I've heard that it's very beautiful... I want to see the rainbow sakura!"

Virgo sighed, "We should have at least brought Loke-sama with us..."

The blonde girl grimaced, "We won't be able to enjoy the festival with him hanging around us. He'll be like all stiff and looking out for trouble, bringing more attention to us rather than not."

The pink haired hand maiden couldn't help but smile at her companion's accurate description of the captain of the celestial guards. "Fine. But we should make it quick... it's dangerous for us to be here... especially for you. Humans are by lot a greedy race, if they find out you're a celestial maiden..."

The girl beside her beamed before she grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the throng of people milling about.

Lucy grinned at the sights around her, her blonde tresses falling in wisps around her face, the rest piled up on her head in a tight bun. Chocolate brown eyes twinkling happily as she watched the people around her, her footsteps light and quick as she tried to make her way towards the famed rainbow sakura.

She could hear Virgo calling to her as she giggled. It was her third time in the human realm, twice she had ran off on her own, curious to know the race they had been forbidden to interact with. For as long as she could remember, the people of the celestial realm had been forbidden to interact with humans. They were even forbidden by the great celestial spirit king to even go to the human realm. He had said that it was to protect them, it was even said that once humans found out that they were celestial beings, they would kill them in cold blood.

There were stories of celestial beings who died at the hands of humans, but it still did not stop her curiosity. Lucy had been entranced by the humans from the moment she had heard about them. Yes, she had heard of dark stories about them, but deep in her heart she knew that there was also good in them. This was proven by the friendship she had taken with Mirajane Strauss.

She had met the beautiful young woman on her first time in the human realm, literally crashing on to her as she was wandering around the streets of Magnolia. The young woman tended to a hotpot restaurant named Fairy Tail along with a few other people. After crashing on to the said girl, Mira had taken one look at the her who seemed lost and had promptly taken her in.

As she brought her in Fairy Tail, Lucy's eyes were round as saucers as she watched how rowdy the people were. Mira has jokingly told Fairy Tail was one of the best hotpot restaurants in Magnolia making it home to a lot of rowdy people.

The celestial maiden merely blinked and nodded at her words before being pulled into helping out at the restaurant. Despite her not knowing what to do, Lucy enjoyed her stay in Fairy Tail as Mira and her younger sister, Lisanna, taught her what needs to be done.

On her second visit, she immediately went to Fairy Tail much to the surprise of Mira, considering the fact that she had disappeared for almost three months. The young woman merely smiled and brought the girl with her, touring her around Magnolia.

Lucy grinned happily at the memories and waved happily, her kimono sleeves flapping in the wind as she ran towards the Strauss siblings. Leaning on her knees, she breathed in deeply before straightening up and grinning at her friends.

Mira smiled as turned to hug the blonde girl. "Lucy-chan, it's been a while..."

Lucy smiled, "Sorry, I've been busy back at home..."

Mirajane smiled at the blonde girl and just nodded, Lucy had never told them where she came from and she respected that, merely accepting the girl at the times she would unexpectedly pop up from nowhere.

"It's good that you were able to come here for the festival."

Lucy looked at Lisanna and grinned happily, "I almost didn't make it..." she said sheepishly before looking at her companion who was now eyeing her in shock.

Mira smiled at the pink haired girl standing beside Lucy before bowing down as she introduced herself, "I'm Mirajane, and these are my siblings, Lisanna and Elfman."

Virgo blinked and bowed down respectively as well. "I am Virgo... I am..."

"My friend!" Lucy cut in surprising the others but refrained to comment on it as the girl grinned and pointed at the fireworks that was now starting.

As they all turned to watch the fireworks, Virgo inched closer to her mistress, "Hime-sama..." she whispered softly.

Lucy merely shook her head eyes still trained to the bright display above.

Gasps of awe echoed as the fireworks stopped and the rainbow sakura tree started to bloom. Lucy along with Virgo gaped in awe at the beauty in front of them. Mira leaned close to the blonde, "Is this your first time to see the rainbow sakura?"

The young woman merely nodded, her eyes still trained on the bright tree, watching it bloom and blossom before their eyes. "It's so beautiful..."

It was a few minutes later when the serene setting was shattered by screams from the distance. Blinking in alarm, they all looked at one another before Elfman stood up and frowned.

"Stay here. I'll go and see what's happening." picking up his sword, he tucked it in his hakama before hurrying to the origin of the noise.

They all looked worriedly at one another seeing that more and more people were now panicking and running in fear.

Lisanna stepped closer to her older sister and gripped her arm. "What's happening?" she whispered worriedly.

Mira merely shook her head, eyes stretched out to where her younger brother had set out. Relief reflecting in her eyes as she saw him hurrying back to them but bit her lip in worry as she saw his strained features.

"We need to get out of here." he gasped out as he neared them

"What's going on?"

Elfman looked at his elder sister and gripped his sword in his hand before turning to look behind him, "It's Tartaros."

"Tartaros?!"

Mira's eyes widened in fear before narrowing in determination. "Elfman, get Lisanna to safety." Turning to the blonde girl beside her, she grabbed her hand and ran.

Lucy nearly tripped on her kimono as she ran being pulled by Mira, gasping for breath, fear tightening her chest. Even in the celestial realm, the name Tartaros was familiar due to the atrocities they've done in the human realm. Loke had even told them that there were rumors that the members of the Tartaros clan were demons.

She nearly fell to her knees when her foot caught on a rock, only to be caught by Virgo. Giving her handmaiden an indebted look, her heart nearly stopped when she bumped into Mira who had abruptly stopped. Virgo quickly moved before her and stood protectively in front of her.

In front of them was muscular man with dark brown hair covering the left side of his face. His glittering eyes took in the form of the three women before his mouth split in a wide grin exposing his fangs causing the girls to gasp in shock.

"Well well well... what do we have here? Three lovely ladies waiting to be bathed in blood."

Mira's grip tightened in Lucy's hand as the man slowly approached them, his hand slowly making its way to the sword on his side.

"Lucy... when I say run... you run." Mira whispered to her girl beside her.

Lucy turned stricken brown eyes to her friend before she shook her head, "I can't leave you alone!" she whispered back frantically.

"I can take care of myself. You need to run."

"But..."

Mira threw Lucy a dark look, "Run." before she launched herself to the man unsheathing a sword hidden in the folds of her kimono.

Lucy watched in horror as Mira fought with the man, their swords ringing as it clashed. She screamed out loud as he managed to catch Mira and kicked her on her side, throwing her on the ground.

He chuckled dangerously, "I am Jackal of Tartaros and if I'm not mistaken, you're Mirajane Strauss... the demoness of Fairy Tail."

"Fairy Tail?!"

Despite her fear, Lucy turned to Mira in confusion. At her look, Jackal laughed, "Oh... so your friend doesn't know?"

Lucy turned her confused eyes to her companion who now stood stiffly more than ever, ready to protect her. "Virgo... what's wrong with Fairy Tail?"

Virgo gritted her teeth as she watch the two face off, "Fairy Tail is a clan that was created by the shogun to handle opposing clans like Tartaros."

"How come I've never heard of it?" she whispered as she watched Mira and Jackal continue to fight.

"Because there was no reason to." Virgo's face tightened, "We need to get you out of here."

"We can't leave Mira!"

"She can handle herself!" answered Virgo back as she tried to pull Lucy away from the combatants. "We need to leave before he shows up!" she hissed.

"Who "he"?" Lucy asked her before screaming Mira's name again as the light haired woman crashed on some crates, her kimono darkening with her blood. Tugging on Virgo's hold on her, she unfurled the whip that acted as a ribbon to her kimono, and lashed out to the man approaching the prone woman on the floor.

Jackal merely caught the whip and used it to drag the blonde haired girl to him. As he caught her, he lifted her up by the neck before blinking. "You're..." before he could say anything he dropped Lucy and jumped back, grinning maniacally as he saw the man approaching them from the mists.

"Finally he shows himself."

Lucy coughed and crawled towards the prone form of Mira. Virgo, giving up to the fact that her mistress would not leave her friend, quickly did her best to help Mira. As she helped Mira, her eyes kept a close watch at the new comer.

She cursed softly as she saw the man approaching.

Lucy's eyes stared at the man approaching, her breath catching as she took in his form. Clad in a black gi and white hakama, his arms hanging loosely by his side and a scarf tied around his neck. But what caught Lucy's attention, was his shocking pink hair tied in a short ponytail. She would have laughed had she not looked at his face, he was handsome... but it was his eyes that caught her attention.

Glittering green irises that promised death.

"Salamander, I was wondering when you'd show up."

Green irises flickered to the injured Mira before flicking back to the Tartaros samurai.

"Are you ok, Mira?"

Coughing, Mira slowly sat up and smiled softly at him, "I'm fine..."

Virgo looked at her wound and made sure that it was properly bandaged before grabbing her charge's hand and tugged her up and started to run as the two swordsmen started their fight, swords clashing, blades glinting in the dark night.

Lucy too startled at the events, merely followed Virgo's lead before turning her stricken brown eyes to her friend, "But, Mira...!"

Mira merely smiled and nodded at the pink haired woman. "Go! I'll be fine!"

At their voices, Jackal turned his head and saw the blonde girl running off, "Not on my watch!" After blocking Salamander's attack, he pulled out a dagger from his sleeves and threw it at rose haired samurai before running after the retreating women.

"Where do you think you're going?" he chuckled maniacally as he appeared before Lucy, quickly backhanding Virgo who collapsed on the hard ground.

"Virgo!"

Before she could help her handmaiden, she was pulled up by the neck until she was face to face with Jackal. "What's a celestial maiden like you doing here?"

Lucy felt her heart stop at his words but before he could do anything, he was thrown back as a fist collided with his face. Instead of being pulling in by Jackal, she felt a warm, muscular arm on her waist holding her in place as the other man got thrown off.

"Are you ok?"

Lucy gasped as she felt his hot breath by her ear, swiftly turning her head to his, time seemed to stop as her soft brown eyes met his own green irises.

"Damn it. Salamander, that one's mine!"

Turning back to Jackal, the pink haired man snorted as he slowly pulled her behind him. "I don't think so." Launching himself towards Jackal, their blades dancing again in the moonlight, Lucy knelt beside Virgo who gripped her hand again and tugged her to her feet.

"We need to go now, that man knows who you are!" she hissed.

Lucy nodded quietly before following Virgo. As they ran off from the battle, she turned one last look at the pink haired man called Salamander.

"Please be safe." she whispered softly


	2. Her Smile

**Against all odds**

-A Nalu AU inspired by Nanakoblaze's artwork where Lucy is dressed in a pink kimono and Natsu dressed as a samurai holding a bloody katana. (check out her tumblr account!) –

OMG… thank you so much to those who appreciated this story. I'm happy you guys liked the first chapter, here's to hoping I'll live up to the hype. T^T I'm having a hard time trying to get this story down in print, the story is in my mind… but somehow when I try to write it down, it doesn't come out the way I want it too… anyways, reviews and feedbacks would be appreciated. Ja!

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Chapter 2: Her smile

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 _It's been two weeks..._

The man called Salamander thought as his hands tightened on the sword resting on his side. His green irises looking at the blue sky. He was currently sitting at the roof of Fairy Tail trying to avoid the ruckus below, remembering the events two weeks prior.

He along with Gray had been on patrol when they had heard about a few members of Tartaros who were attacking the people attending the cherry blossom festival, both of them rushed to the site to fend off and protect the townspeople when he saw him.

He and Jackal had been trying to kill each other from the first moment they met. Both of them were assassins, however, Jackal took things a bit further. He had reveled in his job, taking fiendish enjoyment in his kills. Slaughtering even the innocent people that had the misfortune of crossing his path, displaying his kills like a trophy, taunting them.

It was because of his bloodlust that Natsu had vowed to kill him. Each time their swords met, it was always a dance of blood and steel. Their fights only stopped when others would interfere.

With his blood heating in anticipation, he had hurried to follow the Tartaros assassin, leaving Gray to handle the rest of the members of Tartaros.

After all, they were only low end soldiers... it would be nothing for his fellow swordsman.

His nose flaring in anticipation for the fight, he stopped momentarily when he heard a woman's scream. It was then he heard Mirajane's name. His muscles locking, he moved forward in the mist only to see Mira on the floor with blood soaking her summer kimono, a pink haired girl standing off to the side and another blonde haired girl dangling in the air as Jackal held her up by the neck.

As he moved closer, he could smell the scent of blood and knew it came from the light haired woman. His green irises darkening in fury, he slowly unsheathed his katana.

 _No one gets away with hurting a member of Fairy Tail!_

As he slowly approached the group, he saw Jackal drop the girl and face him, face alighting in malicious glee. As he and Jackal faced off, from the corner of his eyes, he watched the blonde girl crawl towards Mira, both she and the other girl helped the light haired woman with her wounds. Focusing on Jackal, the two of them engaged in another battle of skill and will until Jackal turned towards the two girls who were running away. Quickly checking on Mira, she merely pushed him towards the two girls, telling him that she would be fine. He managed to catch Jackal in surprise as he wrapped his arm around the blonde girl's waist and slammed his fist into Jackal's face.

When she turned her head towards him, he felt time seemed to stop. All of his senses focused on the girl in his arms.

She was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Soft blonde tresses that fell from the tight bun on her head and cascaded down to a heart shaped face and soft full lips... but what caught his attention were her eyes. Warm chocolate brown irises wide with shock but tinged with innocence.

He would have continued to stare at the girl had Jackal not yelled out saying that the girl was his. The first thing that crossed his mind was, _'Like hell she is...'_ slowly pushing her behind him, he held his katana at the ready before launching himself towards Jackal.

The two of them had been wrapped up in their fight until Gray along with Gajeel and Laxus arrived. With this, Jackal made a quick getaway before the other members of Fairy Tail could catch him. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he slowly sheathed his katana, balefully eyeing the path that his nemesis took. Part of him eager for the hunt, but the other half told him that it would be useless to try and follow the other man.

Grumbling under his breath, he turned towards where he left the girl, only to blink when he only saw his friends behind him. Turning on his heel, his sharp eyes scanned the area only to be disappointed to find out that the girl had disappeared.

"Oi! Natsu!"

Snapping back to the present, he turned his eyes towards the dark haired man standing at the edge of the roof, watched as he approached him before dropping down beside him.

"What's up, popsicle?"

A vein ticking on his head, Gray looked at his childhood friend and raised one dark brow. "I should be asking you that, flamebreath."

Natsu narrowed his eyes at his friend and snorted. "Don't know what you mean."

"You've been moping around since your last fight with Jackal. Are you thinking he might be better than you?"

The rose haired samurai snorted. "Hell no. If you guys hadn't arrived, I would have finally killed him." he said while clenching his fists.

"Then why are you moping around? That's not like you."

Natsu rolled his eyes, "Can't a guy want some peace and quiet?"

Gray snickered at his words, "You? Peace and quiet? That doesn't mix."

"What did you say?!"

With that the infamous brawl between the two samurai started, the two rolling on the roof before falling in the courtyard behind Fairy Tail's restaurant front, as they continued to fight, Mira merely smiled from her post before turning back to her work.

No one from Fairy Tail knew that Natsu had asked her repeatedly about the blonde girl and Mira couldn't help but smile remembering Natsu's insistence in getting information about the girl. As she stepped out of the restaurant, Mira gasped when she saw the familiar face of Lucy as she ran towards her.

"Mira-san!" gasping for breath, the young woman bowed and rested her hand on her knees and gasped for breath, as she straightened, she bit her lip and twisted her fingers together. "It's good to see you Mira-san…I was worried about you."

Mirajane looked behind Lucy then back at her before pulling her inside Fairy Tail, quickly dragging her to the second floor where only the members of their clan was allowed. Pushing her inside an empty room, Mira looked behind her to check if anyone noticed them before following her in and closing the shoji shut.

"Where's Virgo?" she whispered worriedly, at her shocked look, Mira sighed. "You shouldn't be here in the first place, am I right?"

The young girl furrowed her brow before biting her lower lip. "How did you know?"

The light haired woman merely raised a brow and eyed the cloak that covered her from head to foot, eyeing the intricate patterns at the hem.

"You're a noble's daughter, aren't you?"

Lucy worried on her lower lip, "Not really..." she mumbled.

Mira sighed in exasperation, "It's not nice to lie, Lucy. It's either you are or you aren't, and I know you aren't."

The younger girl chewed on her lower lip. "I promise I'm not..." looking up at her apprehensively.

Mira sighed in response. "Alright, I understand if you don't want me to know... however, you should go back."

"I just wanted to check on you... " she grumbled

Mira smiled at the young girl and wrapped her arms around her. "Thank you. You and Virgo saved me that night."

"We didn't do anything..." she mumbled, "if ever... we left you alone, it was Salamander who we have to thank."

The taller woman merely shook her head and smiled before releasing the blonde haired girl. "You better go now, Lucy, Virgo might be worried about you."

She wrinkled her nose, "Can't I stay here for a while... I promise to go home as soon as I can later."

Mira looked at the girl and sighed. Though Lucy had never told them anything about herself, it was obvious that she had a very sheltered upbringing. Unlike the way she was dressed today, she would usually wear a white kimono with blue linings. Trying to dress as any normal girl would dress or look like, however there was just something about her just made her stand out.

And that was the reason why she had taken her in. She fairly was a good judge of character and something told her that Lucy was someone that needed to be watched over.

She sighed, looking at the girl now, it was glaringly obvious that she had just ran off. "Alright, if you're staying, then you need to change your clothes."

Lucy grinned happily and hugged her friend, following the taller girl as she took out a kimono from the wardrobe. As she divested herself of her clothes, she crossed her fingers hoping that they would not notice her disappearance until she got back.

She had told Virgo and Loke that she was not feeling good and wanted to sleep for the rest of the day. As soon as they left her room, Lucy had grabbed her cloak and sneaked out from her window. She had been worried about Mira ever since that night and wanted to check up on her but Virgo had put her foot down and stated that she should never ever go back to the human realm.

Lucy knew that Virgo was merely trying to protect her so she didn't take it against her, but it was because of that she didn't have the chance to go to Mira right after that incident. Both she and Loke had been watching her like a hawk.

 _Be honest... it wasn't just because of Mira._

Lucy flushed a bit at that stray thought as she tightened the sash of her kimono. As worried as she was about the light haired woman, she also wanted to see him again.

 _Salamander_

Shaking her head, she quickly followed Mira out of the room only to bump into someone as they rounded the corner. Yelping in shock, she braced for the floors impact as she fell back only to feel a muscular arm hold her in place. Opening her eyes she gasped when she met with jade green eyes staring back at her in shock.

"You're that girl from two weeks ago!"

Before she could say anything, he gently straightened her on her feet, grinning widely at her. "You work here? Cool!"

Lucy blushed at his words before shaking her head, "Only for a short time..." she continued to stare at him, confusion evident in her brown eyes.

 _Is this the same man that saved them? He seemed so different…_

"So, what's your name?"

Natsu looked at the girl as she continued to stare at him, furrowing his brows when she failed to respond to his question, "Hey, weirdo, are you ok?"

Flushing at his words, Lucy glared at him when his last question sunk in. "Don't call me a weirdo!"

Natsu blinked then laughed out loud. "Well you were staring at me for a long time and you weren't answering."

Pouting at him as he repeated his question, Lucy grumbled out her name to him.

"Luigi? What kind of name is that?"

"It's Lucy! Not Luigi!" she yelled out

He laughed boisterously as he pointed to himself, "I'm Natsu and welcome to Fairy Tail!" at her shy smile, he followed both her and Mira as they went down to the main hall of Fairy Tail, Mira couldn't help but grin as she watched Natsu follow the blonde girl around the restaurant.

"Ei, Mira, who's that new girl?"

Mirajane grinned at Gray as they both watched Natsu as he continued to follow the girl, teasing her continuously.

"Oh, just an added help."

"This is the first time I've seen Natsu follow a girl like that."

Mira giggled behind one hand, "They look good together, ne?"

Gray merely smirked before turning serious eyes back to her, "Do you think it's ok?"

"Lucy can be trusted." She answered just as seriously.

"How much do you know about her? And how much does she know about us?"

Mira sighed as she laid her tray down and sat before the dark haired samurai. "Just a little, but this I know. We can trust her."

Gray sighed, "Let's hope you're right. Especially with the way Natsu's acting towards her."

* * *

Natsu was now sitting with Cana stuffing himself with his fourth bowl of ramen as he continued to watch Lucy work in the restaurant. He had given her a break from the teasing and left her to do her work. He couldn't help himself from teasing her, he liked the way her cheeks would redden and puff out when she got irritated, or the way he would smile at him as he regaled her with stories, but most of all, he liked to hear her laugh. Grinning at a thought, he slammed his now empty bowl on the table and turned towards Mira,

"Mira! I'm taking Lucy out!"

At his bellow, Mira along with the others gaped at the pink haired samurai as he jumped up and grabbed the new girl's hand and dragged her out, regardless of her screams otherwise. They all looked at each other, too shocked at what happened to even react.

"Let me go! Where are we going? Natsu!"

Natsu merely grinned and tightened his hold on Lucy's wrist. "Mira said that you're just new here and that you never had the chance to check the city out," he looked at her as they continued to move through the streets of Magnolia, "So I'm gonna show you the best sights here in Magnolia!"

At his words, Lucy flushed pink before breaking out in a huge grin, lifting one side of her kimono so that she could keep up with the rose haired samurai who was now dragging her enthusiastically through the streets of Magnolia.

The two of them had visited various restaurants, the famed Rainbow Sakura, showed her the sights all around the city before going to Cardia Temple where they both got their fortunes read. It was the first time that Lucy had really enjoyed herself, felt free… and it was all thanks to the pink haired samurai who was now dragging her around the city.

It was dark when they both made their way back to Fairy Tail, both their laughter's echoing in the dark streets. As they both approached the restaurant, Lucy gasped when a dark brown haired man detached himself from the shadows advancing towards them, his features tight with anger. Natsu quickly made to unsheathe his katana when she felt his companion's hand on his. Looking down at her in confusion, he tensely waited until the man stood directly in front of them.

Lucy bit her lip when she recognized the man approaching them, struggling not to run away as he came nearer and the light reflecting off his thunderous features. Her hand quickly making its way to Natsu's arm when she heard the distinct sound of a sword sliding from its sheath, not wanting both men to fight, her hand tightened on his arm as he stopped in front of her, glaring down at her.

Without saying anything, he grabbed her other arms and dragged her away only to stop when they felt a tug on her other side. Turning to glare at the other man, Natsu growled as he held Lucy's hand in his. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"This has nothing to do with you." Came the equally dark reply.

"Like hell it is." Green eyes snapping in fury as he tightened his hand on the blonde girl, before he could unsheathe his katana, it was her voice stopped him completely.

"Natsu… it's ok," looking at her in shock, she gave him a small smile as she slowly took her hand away from his, "I'm sorry… but I need to go home now."

Before she could take her hand from his, he tightened his hold momentarily, "Why?"

Lucy's jaw dropped at his question, "I.."

"Why do you need to go back to somewhere you're not happy?"

Tears formed in her eyes at his words, "Natsu…"

"You said it yourself, you're happy here in Fairy Tail."

Lucy bit her lip hard, painfully trying to hold the tears back, but before she could reply a deep voice answered for her.

"It's not for her to decide."

Looking up at her guardian, she saw a muscle tick at his jaw, "Loke…"

Natsu snorted, "It's no one's decision but your own. We should live our lives the way we want it to be."

Loke smiled grimly, "That might be true in a perfect world. But we have to admit that our lives aren't made to be perfect. So we have to remember who we are, follow the rules and live our lives the way it should be."

Eyes wide at their exchange, Lucy chocked on her tears as she listened to Loke's words, it was a slight rebuke for her to remember who she really was. Looking back at the man that had made her smile and laugh so much than she could ever remember she gently but firmly took her hand away from Natsu's grasp. "Thank you Natsu."

At this, she quickly turned to Loke and nodded to him, just before they could leave, Lucy gasped softly when she felt a warm fabric rest on her shoulders, looking up at her new found friend, Lucy gasped softly at the softness reflected in his gaze. "You'll come back right?"

Tears filled her eyes, chest tightening in sorrow. Before she could think about what she was about to do, she threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. "I'll try." came the soft whisper before she turned and ran off.

Natsu looked at Lucy as the darkness enveloped their retreating figures. He looked down at his hand and brought the hair ribbon he had managed to snag off her hair as she fled and took it to his face. Closing his eyes as he remembered her smile, he breathed in deeply, memorizing her scent, his hand clenched on the pink fabric that was almost the shade of his hair.


	3. Forbidden Happiness

**_Against All Odds_**

 _-A Nalu Fanfic-_

 _AN: Hi guys! Sorry for taking me this long to have this chapter uploaded, unfortunately I got really sick this week and I've been busy with work as well but I hope you guys enjoy how this chapter turned out. I'm really happy with all the feedback I've received, thank you so much! As usual, feedbacks and helpful criticisms would be appreciated._

 _BTW: this chapter includes NSFW. so if you're below 18, or not into this, skip the last part. :D_

 _FT does not belong to me._

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 _Chapter 3: Forbidden Happiness_

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 _"We should live our lives the way we want it to be."_

Tears fell from her eyes as she remembered his words. How much had she wanted to do what he said. To live her life the way she wanted to.

 _To follow her heart._

But she can't, as much as she wanted to... as much as she wished for it to be, she couldn't. Occasionally breaking the rules, yes… but to completely disregard everything that she is was another matter.

She sighed as tears continued to fall from her eyes; she looked down at her hands as she fondly stroked the scaled scarf. Blinking in surprise as the door opened behind her, Lucy watched her blue haired guardian approach her. Not bothering to hide the scaled scarf, she clenched her hands in the soft fabric as she watched the intimidating woman come closer.

Aquarius looked at her charge and raised one delicate brow at the scarf clutched in her hands before turning to look at the golden plains outside. "You're lucky your stunt did not reach the Spirit King." When the blonde offered no response at her words, she frowned. "You're aware that as spirits we are forbidden to interact with humans… you are lucky Loke found you before any of those humans found out who you were."

At her words, Lucy's head snapped up to her blue haired companion, brown eyes snapping in anger. "They would never hurt me. _HE_ would never hurt me."

"What makes you so sure little girl?" came the dark glower, Aquarius stood up and glared down at her charge, part of her impressed at the sharp glare the girl was giving her at the moment. Lucy had always cowered before her, followed whatever she said, this was the first time that she had actually seen and heard the girl talk back to her.

"I just know! They're nice! He made me laugh… he wouldn't hurt me!"

At her words, Aquarius blinked. _He made her laugh? Someone made this little girl happy? Someone aside from them?!_ Before she could react a darker thought flitted on her head. She growled dangerously, "You know _nothing_! You don't know how many celestial spirits lost their lives at the hands of humans and demons who crave our power! Do you wish to be like them? To be stripped of your power? Your dignity? Your life?"

Lucy bit her lip harshly, "Not all humans are like that." She whispered

"That is something you don't know. Humans by nature are dark and traitorous and think only of themselves. They are a greedy race that would do anything if it meant they would gain anything from it."

"They're not like that…" she whispered as she clutched at the scaled scarf closer to her chest.

The blue haired woman sighed as she sat back beside her charge, smoothing her kimono as she did. "Lucy. You must keep it in head that you are a heavenly maiden… you are the daughter of the Great Spirit King, you have a responsibility to the heavenly realm."

"I know…" came the soft whisper, _I know… and it's not fair_.

"Good. So, make sure that we do not hear of you traipsing to the human realm again. If you do so, we will make sure that his highness is made aware of your transgressions." After her declaration, she stood up and left the room, as she closed the door, her cerulean eyes met that of serious hazel eyes.

"She's in love."

Aquarius huffed.

Loke sighed and ran a frustrated hand over his untamed mane as they walked away. "Isn't this ironic… the princess of the celestial realm in love with a human." His hand clenched over the hilt of his katana, "Just like her mother."

Aquarius' cerulean orbs glittered dangerously. "I will not allow her to share the same fate as her mother."

"This is going to be a mess, Aquarius…" he grumbled, "I've never seen or hear her laugh so much." He turned his head to the woman walking beside him, "Keeping her here will break her spirit."

The woman beside him narrowed her eyes. She had been in charge of the young woman from the moment she was brought into the celestial realm, she had become her mentor, her guardian… she became the mother she never had.

Now her responsibility was warring with her heart.

 _Layla would have followed her heart._

Turning to her fellow spirit, "I want to know everything about that boy."

Loke merely blinked at Aquarius; words before giving a rueful grin. He knew that despite her harsh demeanor, Aquarius only wanted Lucy's happiness.

Aquarius gazed at Loke's back as he left to do her bidding. Her happiness has always been a tantamount importance to her, whether she showed it or not, it was what she only wanted for her dearest charge. She and her fellow spirits had been the cause of her gentle smiles and gentle laughter.

Now, someone was claiming to take that from them.

 _Could she let her go?_

* * *

Natsu pulled his kasa lower so that it would cover his face as he quickly walked down the moonlit path. He was on patrol duty for that night and could not wait until his shift was over and he can fall over his bed and sleep.

 _Sleep and dream of her._

Pulling the pink ribbon from the folds of his shirt, he took it to his face and breathed in deeply. He smiled faintly as his sensitive nose managed to catch faint traces of her scent.

"And you're sniffing that ribbon like a dog again."

A tick managed to appear in his forehead at the insulting words, tucking the pink ribbon back inside his gi, he glared at the dark haired samurai walking beside him.

"If you're so infatuated with that girl, why don't you just look her up and take her?"

Natsu sighed in annoyance, "Because I don't know where she is." He grumbled

Gajeel raised one dark brow over his companion, "Have you tried our information network?"

"I did. Nothing." He grumbled low in his throat.

"Huh. That's a first. Nothing escapes the Raijinshu."

"Don't you think I know that?" Natsu grumbled as he hunched deeper in his haori, arms crossed over his chest, hands fisted inside his robe.

"She a noble's daughter?"

"I've had the Raijinshu look into that as well, but they said no. They can't find anything about her."

"Maybe she's for the other group? That's why we can't find anything about her."

Natsu snorted. "Last time I checked, she was about to be killed by Jackal."

Both men kept quiet as she passed through the bridge as they neared Fairy Tail. "Any ideas?"

Natsu didn't answer until they passed the gates and entered the compound, as he removed his kasa and threw his haori aside, he growled his answer as he glared balefully at the dark sky before stomping up towards his quarters. " _None."_

At Natsu's answer, Gajeel kept quiet, not wanting to voice out his suspicion to the young man. He slowly removed his own kasa and haori before moving towards one of the rooms in the ground floor. Removing his katana, he dropped beside the lightly sleeping bluenette startling her awake.

"Gajeel, you're back."

The dark haired samurai smirked at the small girl, "Obviously, shrimp. Didn't I tell you to go to bed and not wait for me?"

Levy colored prettily at his words before muttering, "Jerk."

"Oi... Levy," waiting for her to look at him, he met her own soft gaze with his own, "what do you know about the new girl?"

Levy's eyes widened, "You mean the blonde part timer? Lucy-chan?"

At his nod, Levy put a finger her lower lip and thought about his question before frowning, "Nothing much. As far as we know, Mira found her wandering around the streets and took her in..." she turned her eyes to her dark haired companion, "why?"

"Salamander's been interested in her."

Her eyes lit up like fireworks, "Really?"

His dark eyes turned to her, "The Raijinshu has found nothing about her."

Levy's eyes widened at his words before frowning. "That's not possible. If anything, they would have found something about her... it's impossible not to leave a trace."

The tall samurai raised one dark brow at her. "Are you sure no one leaves a trace?"

Her blue head bobbed up and down vigorously. "Yes. I'm sure of that... unless she's a spirit, that's the only explanation why they can't find anything about Lucy-chan." She joked only to stop when she noticed his raised brow before she gasped. Her hands lifting to cover her mouth, "are you saying that she might be a spirit?" She whispered incredulously.

Gajeel turned to watch the flickering flames of the candle, "It's either she's a mononoke or a celestial spirit, I'd bet on the latter."

"You may be right... oh dear... rumors has it that spirits are forbidden to mingle with humans..." Levy looked up at the ceiling towards the resting quarters of their clan. "How sad for both of them if that's the case."

"The bigger question now is, if she's really a spirit, what the hell is she doing here?"

* * *

Natsu looked out at the gardens from his room and watched as the sky lightened to dawn.

A slight nudge on his foot made him look down for a while before lifting the blue tinged cat on his lap before continuing to gaze at the light morning sky.

"Where do you think she is, Happy?"

An answering meow was his only response as the cat burrowed its head in his hand. He continued to pet the cat for a few minutes as he contemplated the mystery of the blonde girl. From the moment he had seen her, she had consumed his thoughts. Now that he had the chance to be with her, she was all he could think about.

Or the sound of her laughter.

Natsu smiled faintly, he loved her reaction whenever she got flustered or irritated... but it was her smile that captured his attention, when she smiled it was as if she has captured the sun.

She practically glowed in happiness.

The pink haired warrior shook his ruefully. If anyone heard his thoughts now, they'd probably keel over in shock.

The great Salamander spouting poetic nonsense.

Giving Happy one final scratch, he stood up and went to his futon to get some well needed rest.

It was approximately a week later on his patrol when he had encountered her again. He was assigned to patrol the passageway from Magnolia to Shirotsume where there were reports of villagers and travelers alike being attacked by members of Tartaros.

It was raining hard and he had kept his kasa lowered so that his eyesight wouldn't be affected by the sleeting rain. As he quietly walked down the empty road, he had kept his senses sharpened to watch out for any trouble when his nose picked up her delicate scent. It was a bit dampened by the water but it was still her. When he lifted his head, he saw her standing behind a huge tree, trying to keep out of sight. He smiled faintly as he approached the tree in question as she quickly ducked behind it.

"Hiding behind that tree isn't going to help, weirdo. You might want to try hiding that golden head of yours."

The girl huffed as she stepped from behind the tree, "Don't call me a weirdo!"

Natsu chuckled, "What else am I going to call you when you act like one."

Lucy pouted and stomped one dainty foot on the ground, not heeding the splash of water as she did so. "I'm not!"

Natsu raised one brow at her as he eyed her soaked form from head to foot. "Only a weirdo would step out in the rain without any umbrella or cloak on."

The blonde girl flushed and looked down at the ground before looking up in shock as he placed his own cloak over her head. Before she could open her mouth to protest, he merely shook his head at her.

"What are you doing here?"

Lucy bit her lower lip as she turned back to the big tree and took a package from the ground and handed it to him, "I wanted to return your scarf... I had a feeling that it was important to you, that's why I wanted to give it back."

Natsu smiled at the girl as he took the package and tucked it under his arm, "I don't mind you keeping it..."

She flushed red at his words as well as the soft look he was giving her before he frowned and grabbed her arm and started pulling her with him. "You shouldn't be here. This place is dangerous." He growled darkly as he remembered where they were at the moment.

"But, I.."

He turned to give her a fanged grin before turning serious obsidian eyes towards their surroundings. "Not that I don't mind seeing you..."

He relaxed a bit as he saw the first building that signaled they were almost in Shirotsume. He continued to pull on the girl until they reached the Fairy Tail rest house in that part of the city which fronted as a hot spring hotel.

As they both stood on the threshold dripping wet, a green haired woman approached them, her eyes widened in shock when she laid her eyes on the pink haired man.

"Natsu! What on earth happened to you?!"

Natsu grinned up at the woman and removed his kasa. "It's raining like crazy out, Bisca." Shaking his head heedless of the water flinging about.

"Stop making a mess!" She yelled as she threw him a towel, her eyes widened as the girl he was with removed his cloak from her head.

Bisca gaped at the beautiful girl Natsu was with before noting that she was as wet as he was. Hurrying to give her some towels to dry with, she shook her head at Natsu. "Tsk, Natsu... how could you let a girl like this get absolutely drenched!"

His eyes widened, "Hey! I found her drenched already. This weirdo didn't have an umbrella with her, I gave her my cloak see?" he complained

"I said don't call me a weirdo!"

Bisca merely shook her head before turning to the girl, "I'm Bisca, the proprietress of this hotel. If you would follow me, I'll bring you to your room so you can change and refresh." she stated the last part while looking at Natsu, knowing he just came from patrol.

Before he could respond, the blonde girl spoke beside him, "I'm Lucy... and I'm afraid I won't be able to stay, I need to go."

His sharp eyes turned to her. "Like hell you're going now."

Lucy frowned at him, "I just dropped by to give you your scarf back. I can't stay."

He frowned at her before turning back to Bisca, "Bisca, can you go ahead and prepare that room?"

The green haired woman merely nodded and turned to leave the two alone. As soon as she was out of sight, Natsu turned to face Lucy, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You need to change or you'll get sick. Not to mention it's raining hard out."

Lucy bit her lower lip at his fierce expression. "I really have to go, Natsu." she looked up to his now deep green irises pleadingly as she slowly backed away from him and towards the door.

Before she could move out the door, he quickly moved from his relaxed stance and grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. Her eyes wide in shock as she tumbled back to him, her hands falling to rest on his firm chest in response as he held firm.

"Natsu?!" Just as she was about to yell at him, her words got stuck in her throat as she stared into his soft green eyes.

"Stay." he whispered

She shook her head, brown eyes forlornly looking back at him, "I just ran off so I could give you your scarf..." she whispered softly.

One of Natsu's warm hands lifted from her arm before grasping a few of her damp blonde locks. "You just didn't come here to give me scarf back, you're saying goodbye."

Her breath locked in her throat, chest tightening in pain as tears formed in her eyes, hands fisting on his chest as she lowered her head, hiding her face in the fall of her hair.

Natsu let go of the blond strands before cupping her chin in his hand, forcing her to look up at him. He gritting his teeth at the sorrowful brown orbs now looking up at him. "Why?"

"I shouldn't be here in the first place..." she whispered tearfully, "I never should have come in the first place."

"Do you regret meeting me, Luce?" Came the sorrowful question.

Her eyes widened at that before she furiously shook her head, "No! I know we've known each other for just a short time... but you make me feel... safe." She whispered before biting her lip again in apprehension, eyes falling to look at her fisted hands, "You make me feel happy... loved." She had whispered the last word so softly he almost didn't catch it.

Natsu couldn't help the warmth that filled him as he heard her words, he moved the hand cupping her chin to stroke her face as he lowered his head to hers, their foreheads touching. "Then stay with me."

Tears freely fell from her eyes, "I can't, Natsu... I really can't." She sobbed softly.

"Run away with me."

Her head whipped up to meet his own soft eyes. "Natsu... we..."

"Just the two of us, Luce."

Lucy looked deep into his eyes before she laughed softly as she shook her head. "You don't know how much I want to say yes..." her tearful eyes locked on to his obsidian eyes as she lifted her hand to stroke his face, "We can't. We have our responsibilities."

Natsu closed his eyes as he savored the feel of her hand on his face as he gave a rueful grin, "It was just a thought."

"You don't even know who I really am."

His eyes opened and locked into hers once again, "Does it look like I care?" he cupped her face in his warm hands, "You're Lucy. That's all that matters."

"Natsu..."

He let her soft breath wash over him before he lowered his own head to capture her soft lips with his own. He felt her hands clench on his face and chest before she slid it around his neck and fisted on his hair. He lifted his lips for a second before pressing it back to her, sliding his tongue on the seam of her mouth before plunging in. He deepened his kiss as he tilted his head and cupped her neck. A deep shudder wracking his body when he heard her soft moan. He pulled back reluctantly from her when he sensed Bisca's presence nearing them. He breathed in her scent deeply as he laid his head on hers, hands tightening on her waist.

"Stay, for now."

* * *

Lucy gasped as she felt his teeth on her neck followed by a gentle suction. She moaned his name out loud as she arched her body towards him, seeking out his the warmth of his body, his scorching touch. Gripping his rose locks in her hands, she tugged at his head until she was able to take his lips in a passionate kiss, moaning softly as their tongues battled for dominance over the other.

She gasped and pulled her head back from him with a soft wail as his hand found the wetness between her thighs and began to push a finger inside her. She wanted to lock her legs but the man above her prevented her from doing so as he used his own body to keep her open to him.

"That's it Luce."

Natsu's eyes darkened as he watched the woman beneath him. Head thrown back, face flushed in pleasure, eyes glazed as her mouth parted in a soundless wail, breaths coming out in soft pants and her hands clenched in the soft covers beneath her.

He lowered his head to her generous mounds and took one hardened peak into his mouth as his other hand continued to thrust in and out of her dripping core. He suckled hard at the taut peak as her back arched again as his thumb found the nub between her legs as his fingers plunged into her, eyes glinting as he heard her chocked scream of pleasure.

He let go of the breast he was playing with and took her mouth once again. Enjoying her taste as she shuddered beneath him, he then let his mouth move down from suckling her ear to leaving a moist trail of fire down her neck. He nuzzled the arch of her throat before his eyes locked on the cherry blossom like mark on the curve of her shoulder, licking the mark as he continued to pleasure her.

Lucy opened her pleasure hazed eyes to look at the man before her, her breath coming in gasps as she watched him move between her legs, watched his powerful body move.

"You are beautiful."

Natsu's head snapped up at her words before he chuckled, "That should be my line, weirdo." he grinned rakishly at her before his hands slipped from her dripping wet core and his mouth replaced it earning a choked scream from the blonde girl, her hands clenching on his rose locks.

Lucy nearly sobbed in pleasure as she felt his tongue inside her, her mind going blank as immense pleasure washed over her. Hands tightening its hold on his hair as she moaned his name out loud.

Natsu savored the feel of her in his arms, her taste as it washed over him… most of all, the sound of his name on her lips. The way she would moan out loud, gasp and mewl. He let his instinct take over him, wanting to hear her more, to feel her around him. Nuzzling her thighs as he gave her one last lick, Natsu lifted his own body and positioned himself between her open legs. Bracing his arms on either side of her head, he took her lips before he slid himself completely inside her.

The celestial maiden raked her nails on his back as he gave a particularly strong thrust, her mouth wide open as she gasped for breath and tears filled her eyes. She buried her head on his chest as her body tightened in pain, she gasped slowly as she felt Natsu's soft whispers in her ears as he stroked her back comfortingly. She gave a subtle nod for him to continue when the pain began to subside.

She gave his shoulder a slight nip as he continued to thrust inside her, filling her completely. Making her burn from the inside. " _Natsu_!" she grasped his head and attacked his lips with her own, wrapping her arms around him, bringing him closer to her, enjoying the feel of his warm chiseled body so close to her own soft ones.

Natsu groaned out loud as she tightened around him, "Gods, Luce…" came the guttural groan as he buried his sweat dampened face at the crook of her neck, hands fisting on the covers beneath them as his hips continued to relentlessly thrust into her. He gripped her waist as he felt his groin tightening, lifting his head from her neck, he attacked her lips with his own, savoring the way her tongue battled with his, breaths mingling. He released his grip on her waist only to take her hands in his as he continued to pound into her.

" _I love you."_

Natsu's eyes snapped open and met her own soft chocolate orbs before he grunted and gripped her neck and bit into her neck in response, making the girl scream in pleasure as she came, tightening her walls around him, taking her with him. He gripped her head and clenched his fist in her hair as he forced her head back, exposing her swan like neck to him, eyes zeroing on the light bruise on her neck, he opened his mouth and locked his fang like teeth on her neck drawing blood as his own body convulsed in pleasure, spilling himself inside her.

As the two lovers laid in repose, Natsu breathed in their combined scents as he moved to cover their bodies with the blanket, arms wrapped tightly around her form. _"I love you too, Luce…"_ he whispered softly in her hair before sleep claimed him.

It was hours later when Lucy slowly stood up and gathered her discarded clothes and kneeled before the sleeping pink haired samurai. Stroking his soft locks in her hands as she gently pressed her lips to his, eyes shadowed as she stood up and moved towards the door.

"Thank you for everything, Natsu, and forgive me."

Her eyes soft as she looked back at him before she opened the door and stepped out, tears falling from her beautiful face just as the door closed behind her.


	4. Like mother, like daughter

_Against All Odds_

 _-A Nalu Fanfic-_

 _FT does not belong to me._

* * *

 _Chapter 4: Like mother, like daughter_

* * *

"Just a few more days..."

The light haired samurai tipped the sakazuki to his lips before slamming the cup back on the table, his eyes glinting in maniacal glee as he watched the pouring rain.

He poured himself another cup of sake before downing it in one gulp.

 _Just a few more days and he'd be able to get his hands on that power. And when he does, he'll finally win this game._

"Just a few more days. I'll make sure to make your head roll Salamander."

Lifting the cup in the air in a silent toast to the cloud shrouded night.

* * *

"Lucy-sama, please hold still."

The blonde celestial maiden squirmed on the cushion she was resting on as Virgo and Aries fixed the ornaments on her hair. They had been busy doing all the preparations for this day. Lucy squirmed again as Aries fixed the pink blossom on her hair as her hands clenched on her lap.

Her chocolate brown eyes wide as she eyed her guardian as she stood beside the door, her heavenly robes on her hands. As Aries and Virgo stepped back, Aquarius went forward and placed the robes on the lacquer table beside her, with a slight nod, the other two maidens stepped out of the room.

As the door slid shut, Aquarius knelt down and slowly unfurled the bundle of silk on her waist, as her obi slowly came undone, the blue haired woman slowly pulled it from her and folded it neatly on the lacquer table. Lucy looked at her guardian as the bluenette stood silently looking at the open window, her hands caressing the soft fabric.

"Aquarius-san..."

Dark blue eyes snapped back at her as the bluenette turned to face her, making her squeak in surprise.

Aquarius glared at the young girl who was the spitting image of her mother.

"You finish this ceremony and you come home as soon as possible." Before Lucy could open her mouth to protest, Aquarius continued, "don't even think of running off to meet that assassin."

Lucy's mouth dropped open at her words, "Wh-what do you mean?"

"That pink haired swordsman you've been meeting in the human realm." Dark blue eyes fairly sparkled in anger, "He's Fairy Tail's number one assassin. You should never have involved yourself with someone like him."

Lucy frowned at her guardian's words, "You say it as if he's something bad..."

"He's an assassin, little girl. What more do I need to say?"

"He helps protect the people!"

Aquarius snorted delicately, "He's still a killer." She raised her delicate brows at her just as the girl was about to retort, "It just reinforces the fact that you and him are not meant to be."

Lucy gritted her teeth at her words at her harsh words as her eyes dropped down to her hands clenched tightly on her lap. The older woman sighed as her blue eyes softened as she watched the girl try to hold in her tears, moving back towards the young girl, she kneeled before her and took her hands into her own.

"Lucy, I think it's about time you understood why you need to stay away from humans." as her brown eyes looked up to her, Aquarius closed her own as she remembered her beloved sister.

"Layla was three years older than me, she has always been one of the most favored celestial maiden during our time..." Aquarius smiled gently at her, "She had been the celestial maiden selected to host the festival back then, and just like you, she had an unusual fondness for humans, it was back then that she had met your father."

Aquarius smiled bitterly at Lucy's shocked stare, "Yes, your father was human. He was a wealthy merchant who got lost and managed to stumble into the moon festival. At the festival, only the selected maiden would be left behind in the human realm to complete the ceremony. Your father back then thought that just like him she got lost and offered to help her. From then on, your mother would escape to the human realm just to meet with him."

The bluenette eyed the girl before her, "Sounds familiar?" At her flushed face, she continued with her story, "Despite all the warnings given to her, your mother opted to forgo her heritage and marry your father. She stayed with him in the human realm... she was so happy, especially when she gave birth to you."

Tears filled her eyes as she continued, "We do not know how it happened... a few weeks after your birth, your mother appeared in the celestial plains," she took in a shuddering breath, "Capricorn and Loke were the one's who found her. She said that they were attacked by someone from Tartaros who had somehow found out about her heavenly origins, your father tried to protect the two of you to no avail, she herself barely escaped."

"Layla died from her injuries that night, but before she did, she had asked us to take care of you..." tears fell from Aquarius' face as she recounted the events of that night, "The Spirit King took it upon himself to take you in as his own daughter, for Layla's sake... from then on, he had decreed that no one from the heavenly realm should mingle with the humans."

Water cascaded down her face as Lucy wrapped her arms around herself,

"Why was I never told of this?" she whispered forlornly

Aquarius focused her eyes on Lucy, "Everything was done to protect you."

Lucy raised her own tear filled eyes to meet with dark cerulean orbs, "Why only now?"

"Because we don't want you to follow down Layla's path. She had fallen in love with a human, only to die by their hands. She had given her life for you, you should not risk your life by doing the same."

"Mother didn't die by my father's hands, from what you told me, he did everything to protect her..."

The blunette wiped her own tears from her eyes and glared at the blonde girl, "True, but it was because of that love that she had died in the hands of another human... if we let you continue on this path, you'd end up the same as your mother."

"But how can you say that? Natsu won't..."

"He might not," Aquarius cut her off, "But there are others who might. You may be half human, but you still retain your heavenly heritage, your blood is still has the capacity to reinforce a human's inherent strength."

"Lucy, Layla and your father had given up their lives to protect you, do not let it go to waste." as she stood up, she turned and clutched the hagoromo she had previously placed on the black lacquer table. "Do not wander off, wait for Loke and the others to fetch you once the ceremony is done."

Lucy bit her lip and nodded slowly as Aquarius wrapped the soft robe around her body.

"This is for the best." Aquarius told her softly as she finished tying the robe around her ward. "And Lucy, no matter what, no matter who you see, do not wander off."

"I understand." came the soft response as Lucy closed her eyes, her heart clenching painfully on her chest.

 _I really won't see him again..._

* * *

Loke eyed the men standing at the edge of the forest, his own hand clenching on hilt of his sword.

"Why are you so agitated old friend? Fairy Tail has been acting as our guards for the longest time, you know they have no idea who we really are. All they know is that we are a group of monks, priests and priestesses who has this festival quinquennially."

The younger man ran a frustrated hand over his unruly hair as he grumbled under his breath. "That's not the problem, Taurus."

"Then what is it?"

Loke leaned back against the tree behind him and crossed his arms over his chest, "Lucy-chan is this festival's chosen representative."

"And this bother's you because?"

Loke glared at his companion, "Lucy being the representative doesn't bother me. It's the fact that Fairy Tail will be here with her."

Taurus snorted, "And why are you so worried about that?"

The younger man kept quiet and continued to glare at the soldiers stationed at the edge of the forest.

Gray felt someone looking at him and turned to watch the guards stationed inside the forest. He, along with Gajeel and Freed has been assigned to guard this year's representative of the blood moon festival, the last time this festival happened, it was the Raijinshu who stood as guards for this clan's representative.

"Why do we have to do this again?"

Gray slid his gaze from the shadowed forest to the man standing beside him before looking at Freed who answered for him.

"The Amachi clan has always been an affiliate of Fairy Tail from the beginning, although they have always segregated themselves and choose not to interact with anyone. In all of Fairy Tail's history, we have encountered their members only on times when they would have this festival."

Gajeel raised one dark brow at him, "How did they find out about us anyway if they're that secluded and all? "

The green haired samurai merely shrugged, "As far as what the master told us, the first was approached by someone from their clan asking for someone to guard their delegate for this festival."

"Don't they have their own guards?"

"They do. However, for some reason, only that delegate passes through, once she returns back to them, they would meet her at the edge of the forest and escort her back to their place."

"Have you tried to find out anything about their clan?"

Freed turned towards Gray and shook his head. "We tried. But for some reason we couldn't find anything about them. We brought this up to the master as well and he ordered us not to look any further."

Gray frowned, "But you have an idea." he stated

Freed looked at the dark haired pair before turning to look at the dark forest, "We figure that the Amachi clan is as they are named..."

"Geehee, now this seems interesting."

Gray and Freed both turned to look at the taller man who was now eyeing the forest speculatively.

"What do you mean by that?" Freed asked him

He turned his dark eyes towards his companions, "Who wants to bet Salamander's woman is a part of this clan?"

Gray's eyes widened at his words along with Freed, "Are you referring to..."

"That reminds me, Natsu once asked us to look for that girl... Lucy, right?" Freed said at the same time.

Gajeel nodded, "You found out nothing about her, correct?"

"So you're saying that she could be a Tennin?" Gray asked him

The darker man merely nodded. "It's a possibility right? You found out nothing about the Amachi clan, you found nothing about that girl." Freed nodded in agreement, "so, we're left with a possibility that she's one of them."

Gray frowned, "Does Natsu know anything about this?"

"What do you think I am? Stupid?"

Gray smirked in response before they all turned at the rustling leaves behind them. They all watched as a woman slowly made her way towards them, behind her stood two guards, one of them stood taller than Gajeel and the other one stood on par with Gray's height.

As they moved towards them, they saw the young woman start as she saw the three of them standing at the edge of the clearing. The guard with an unruly orange tinted hair leaned towards the small woman and whispered something to her.

The young woman who was covered from head to foot, merely nodded at him before she stepped away from them, as she approached the Fairy Tail guards, Gray's dark blue eyes locked with the guard that spoke with the woman.

"We leave our mistress with you."

Gray merely nodded as he watched the two men move back within the shadows before turning towards the young woman who was stiffly standing beside him. Freed and Gajeel merely looked at each other, also noticing the woman's attitude.

It was Freed who approached the young woman as they started to walk towards the ceremonial grounds, "We'll be accompanying you until you are finished, please do not hesitate to ask for our assistance if you need it." The young woman merely nodded without saying anything.

Lucy clenched her hands tightly together as she walked beside the green haired soldier whose hair was tied up in a high ponytail, conscious of the dark haired samurai walking behind her. Her heart nearly stopped when her eyes fell on her assigned bodyguards, two of them were unfamiliar to her, however the third one she had recognized on sight.

She had no idea that the guards who would be accompanying her would be coming from Fairy Tail. No wonder Aquarius was very adamant in advising her, same with Loke. As soon as she saw Gray, her eyes sought out if there was anyone else with them, only to be disappointed when she saw just the other two samurai standing behind him. She wanted to ask Gray about Natsu however she remembered what her guardians had told her, so she kept quiet and held her tongue.

Gray walked quietly beside Gajeel as they accompanied the young woman to her destination. For some reason, he couldn't help but feel that there was something familiar about her. As they arrived at the sanctuary, a strong gust of wind blew by them nearly taking her hood off her head.

Gray's blue eyes widened when he saw the strands of blonde hair escape from her hood. He turned his head to Gajeel in silent question who had also turned his head to look at him.

His face turned thunderous as he realized that their assumptions might have been correct. He lengthened his strides so that he could walk beside the girl, "We didn't expect to see you here..." he turned to look at the girl when she didn't give any response to him.

"Does Natsu know you're here?" Gray saw the girl flinch lightly at his question but still kept quiet. Instead of answering him, she quickly moved to enter the sacred grounds before she felt his hand clasp her upper arm. She turned to look at him from under her hood as she tried to pry her arm away from his hold as Gajeel held their other companion back.

"What game are you playing with Natsu?" he growled dangerously at her

Lucy bit her lip as she tried to hold back her tears before she looked up to meet his glittering blue eyes.

Gray's hand dropped from her arm when she met his eyes, the anguish reflected in her soft chocolate orbs as well as her voice stopped him.

"I don't want to hurt him..."

The dark haired samurai sighed as he watched Lucy move towards the sacred grounds. "What did she say?"

Gray ran a frustrated hand over his face as he faced Gajeel, "Nineteen years of being an asexual idiot, when he finally decides to fall, he chooses someone who's way out of his league."

Freed frowned, "So that's the girl Natsu's been looking for?"

Gray nodded and grumbled under his breath. "Trust that flame brain to fall for a tennyo."

Freed smiled ruefully, "He has good taste though."

Gajeel rolled his eyes at that before his sharp eyes focused on the other edge of the clearing. Both of his companions took notice with the shift in the other samurai's bearing, Gray moved back towards the sacred ground making sure to stick close to Lucy as possible.

Freed looked at Gajeel and positioned himself on the other side of Gray. It was after all, their responsibility to protect the maiden inside. They kept their guard up all the time, senses in full alert as they continued to eye their surroundings.

Gray breathed a sigh of relief when he caught sight of Lucy as she stepped out of the circle, he quickly made his way to her side before everything erupted into chaos.

Gray pushed Lucy behind him as he quickly unsheathed his sword as he stood protectively before her while Gajeel and Freed both moved forward to intercept their attackers. Gajeel cursed succinctly when he recognized one of their attackers, as his sword clashed with the man before him, he turned his head towards Gray and yelled at him.

"Get that girl back to them! We'll handle this!"

Gray nodded and grabbed Lucy's hand as they ran away from the fight.

Lucy gasped as she ran with Gray, cringing at the sound of metal clashing into the night. She held on to his hand tightly as they ran.

"Who are they?" she gasped out as they ran through the clearing

"Tartaros." came the clipped reply.

Lucy's eyes widened in fear, "It was Tartaros who attacked the town during the Sakura Festival."

"Same group." he answered, _And with our luck, he'd probably be in this group as well._ He thought savagely as he pushed himself to run faster as he dragged the girl behind him. They were just a few feet from the forest where they were supposed to drop Lucy off when Gray got thrown to the side, Lucy falling on the ground a few feet from him as well. As he rolled up to his feet, his dark blue eyes glinted dangerously as he eyed his opponent, sword held at the ready.

His eyes quickly checked if Lucy was fine as she struggled to sit up, saw as her eyes widen in shock as she saw the man that had gone after them. Fear consumed her as she met his glittering dark eyes.

"Hello little girl..."

Lucy slowly stood up as she warily eyed Jackal, just as he stepped towards her, she found herself looking at Gray's broad back as he stood protectively before her.

"Seriously? I thought you'd be anywhere Natsu was... and he's not here." he taunted him

Jackal merely laughed at Gray, eyes twinkling devilishly. "Oh, I'll be dropping by to visit him soon... it's just this lovely lady and I have some unfinished business.

Lucy gasped softly behind Gray, her hands clenching on her robes as she heard the malicious intent underlining his words. She flinched when she heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed.

"As soon as you get the chance, get in that forest and disappear."

Her soft brown eyes widened at Gray's soft order, "What about you?" she whispered anxiously

"I can handle him. You need to get out of here." He whispered to her urgently as he eyed the Tartaros demon approach them.

"But..."

"No excuses. Go, NOW!" he yelled just as he lifted his own sword to block Jackal's attack.

Lucy yelped and grabbed the hem of her kimono and started to run towards the forest, a few yards away, she felt something wrap around her ankle before she was yanked off her feet.

She groaned in pain as she fell on the hard ground, as she pushed herself up, a hand grabbed her hair and lifted her to her feet. She winced in pain as her eyes met that of Jackal.

"Let her go!"

She groaned in pain as Jackal dropped her back on the ground then turning to meet Gray's attack. She screamed in fear as she saw Jackal's sword slash through Gray's arm making him jump back and hiss in pain. She glared at the light haired man before she jumped up and pushed at him before he could position himself to attack Gray.

Lucy yelped as she got thrown back on the hard ground when Jackal immediately regained his balance and furiously backhanded her. Just as she tried to sit back up, she felt her breath get knocked out of her as he gave her a vicious kick in the middle. She coughed and groaned in pain as she curled over on the hard ground, barely registering the sound of swords clashing in the night.

She felt gentle calloused hands on her shoulder as someone helped her up. She opened tearful brown eyes and saw Gray looking worriedly down at her, she turned her head and saw Loke and Capricorn fighting Jackal head on.

"Come on. Your guards are here now, let's get you to safety." Gray told her as he pulled her up to her feet, regardless of the blood flowing down his arm.

"I wonder if Natsu knows how suicidal you are." He grumbled

Despite the pain in the body, she glared at the dark haired samurai as they moved towards the forest, "I only wanted to help."

Gray grinned roguishly at her, "I know. Thanks... but still suicidal."

Lucy huffed out an irritated sigh but turned her worried eye at his wound, "Your arm..."

"I'm fine. It's you we need to worry about." He assured her before he stiffened and not a second later pushed her away from him as he lifted his sword arm to block an incoming attack.

He swore when he saw additional members of Tartaros coming at them. He quickly turned his head to Lucy, "Get out of here!'

Eyes wide, Lucy scrambled up to her feet and tried to run towards the safety of the forest before she got intercepted. The last thing she remembered as she lost consciousness was Loke and Gray's yells.

Jackal laughed maniacally as he hefted the celestial maiden in his arms, throwing her limp body over her shoulders as he snickered at the Fairy Tail guards as well as the two guards from the Amachi clan.

"Well, have fun. I have some business to attend to." His eyes locked on to Gray's own furious blue eyes, "tell Salamander I'll be dropping by to finally settle our score." Before the other samurai could retort, he had jumped back letting the rest of his group handle the swordsmen fighting on the field.

"Fuck!" Loke swore as the tip of his opponents sword managed to slash his chest. He retaliated by blocking the downward slash with his saya before managing a quick horizontal slash that had the man's head rolling to the ground.

"Lucy!"

* * *

AN: Hello everyone! I'm so sorry it took me this long to update, I've been so busy with work I barely have the time to even open my computer. I'm kinda stuck in trying to figure out how I want to move on with this story which is another reason for the delay. That and the fact I need to find a beta reader to go through with my stories. I usually get stuck in the scene and get literally stuck there for weeks or when I do post my stories, it's only then do I see the grammatical errors as well as the spelling errors (even after reading through it 5-6x! T^T) … (anyone who wants to volunteer to help? Any help appreciated… haha!)

I also want to take the time to thank everyone who took the time to send their reviews. Appreciate it a lot you guys! (hugs and kisses!)

Feedback and constructive criticisms are very much appreciated.


	5. To protect you

**_Against All Odds_**

 _-A Nalu Fanfic-_

AN: Yeey! I finally finished this chapter! After nearly 1 month! I've been so busy with work, that I barely have time to open my pc to work on this. I'm happy I got to finish this. I had a hard time trying to finish this chapter due to the fight scene, but I hope I got it ok. The part between Natsu and Lucy is courtesy of Nanakoblaze's artwork! Please look her up in tumblr!

Special thanks and shout out to MarSofTheGalaxies and Ninalover for being the beta for this chapter, you guys rock!

Reviews and feedback are always appreciated! :3

Again, _FT does not belong to me._

* * *

 **Chapter 5: To Protect You**

Mirajane gasped when they all heard the commotion at the back. Running at the source of the ruckus, Mira gasped when she saw the wounded forms of her guild mates with two more with them. She quickly called out to her sister to summon Porlyusca and Wendy as she rushed forward to help her wounded friends. Just as she reached Gray, the dark haired samurai bellowed out Natsu's name yet again.

She was about to ask Gray to calm down when a hand clamped down on his arm and pushed him down on the floor. Looking at the woman standing beside her, Mira sighed and smiled ruefully at the red headed female swords master glaring down at Gray as the other men followed in suit. The orange haired man struggled before being forced down by Laxus and Elfman.

"Damn it! I said let me go! I'll go after her myself!"

Erza glared the struggling man and gave Laxus a quick glance making the other man clamp his hand on Loke's injured arm and forced him to sit.

"Quiet!"

Erza's sharp eyes glittered as she eyed the wounded soldiers before it landed on Gray.

"What happened?"

Gray gave a deep sigh of disgust and muttered one word. The people around them gasped and started to talk all at once.

"I said quiet!"

At Titania's booming command, the room fell quiet as her eyes went towards the dark haired samurai.

"Your mission was to protect the maiden from the Amachi clan, even if you encountered Tartaros, your goal was to ensure she was protected at all costs..." Erza eyed the man in front of her as his fringes covered his eyes, shoulders taut, hands shaking and fisted on his knees, she sighed and knew without him saying that they had failed.

"You have to help us! Our lady should not be left in the hands of Tartaros! Especially not _him_!"

The red headed swords woman nodded at him. "It is our mission to protect her. We will not fail."

All eyes turned to Gajeel as he groaned, "Where the fuck is that Salamander?!"

Before Mira could speak, the orange haired man cut her off, "No! Not him!"

Everyone then turned towards him as Gajeel growled out, "As embarrassing as this would sound, we need Salamander in this. He and Jackal has an ongoing score to settle... you heard him."

The other man merely glared back at him, "You can take anyone with us except him."

Gray growled in response, "Why? You don't want him near her?"

Before Loke could answer back, he was stopped by an ominous voice coming from behind the white haired woman. He swore viciously when the man stepped forward, his dark green eyes glittering dangerously.

" _Her?"_

Natsu strode forward and eyed the orange haired samurai being tended by Lisanna. His hands clenched when he recognized the man before him and their conversation clicked in his head. Without a word, he growled and lifted Loke up by the front of his gi despite the protests of the people around him.

"What are you doing here?" he growled out dangerously, as Lisanna tried to pry him off the wounded man.

"They're the guards of the shrine maiden assigned to the blood moon festival." Erza stated as she gripped his arm and pulled him off Loke who dropped back down on the floor glaring back at him. "What we need to do now, is to figure out how we can get her back."

Natsu threw a dark glare at Loke before turning back to Gray and the others, "Who her? And what happened to you guys anyway?"

"The representative of the Amachi clan was taken by Tartaros." Erza told him as she mentally calculated the things they would need in an all-out assault on the opposing clan.

The rose haired samurai merely snorted as he grinned dangerously, "Then we take her back." He answered simply.

Gray sighed and looked his childhood friend and knew that Natsu would probably kill him for what he was about to say.

"It was Lucy."

The rose haired samurai stiffened at the name before his bright green eyes bored down on the blue-eyed swordsman. "What did you say?" he asked slowly as Mira gasped and rushed forward and kneeled before the wounded man, "Lucy? Our Lucy?"

Gajeel snorted, "When did that girl become one of us?" he mentally winced when he heard the dark growl coming from Natsu. Mira turned her head towards the dark man, "She is one of us." she snapped back at him before she turned to Gray, her own eyes pleading from him to be wrong. Before Gray could answer her, he was hoisted up in the air by an enraged assassin.

"Say that again."

He merely sighed and instead of knocking his hands off his gi, he locked his eyes towards the green-eyed man holding him up.

"Jackal took her."

* * *

Lucy groaned when she tried to move her body, she slowly opened her eyes as the world slowly came into focus. She stared at the dark ceiling for a few seconds before she turned her head and watched her surroundings. She slowly pushed her body up from the cold hard ground as she eyed the dark room she was enclosed in. She shuddered when she remembered what had happened to her, she bit her lip as she struggled to stand up. Her brown eyes narrowing in concentration as she slowly moved around the room. She had to get out of here before he came back. When her eyes adjusted to the dark room, she could faintly see the outline of the door before her, but before she could come close to it, she gasped when she felt a tug on her left ankle. Looking down, her eyes widened when she reached down and felt the cold metal wrapped around her ankle. She was so focused in trying to get away that she had not noticed that she was chained to the wall.

Tears filled her eyes as she bent down, lifted the chain, wrapped it in her hand and pulled it with all her strength. Lucy wanted to cry in frustration when the chain continued to hold fast, gasping when she heard dark laughter coming from behind her. Quickly dropping the chain, she turned at the sound only to be met with the same glittering eyes that had hunted her from the day of the Sakura festival.

She slowly moved back as she watched his maniacal grin. "You know I was right about you…" he drawled out, moving away from the door, eyes slowly raking down on her form. "You're a celestial maiden…"

Lucy kept quiet as she continued to eye him warily, slowly moving back away from him as he continued to move closer to her. Hands fisted on her side, she gasped as her back hit the cold wall, eyes darting around to look for an escape only to whimper in pain as Jackal's hand grasped her blonde hair in his fist, forcing her to face him.

"I'll have so much fun playing with you before I drain you."

Lucy's brown eyes snapped open to meet his own glittering eyes, she glared back at him despite the pain of his grasp. He chuckled dangerously as he lowered his face closer to her only to release her in shock, swearing loudly as her knee hit him in the groin.

Lucy darted around him running towards the door only to be yanked down, her body falling hard on the ground making the girl yelp in pain. She pushed herself up and turned her head towards the darkly chuckling man who was now holding one end of the chain in his hand.

"You forget princess, I hold the other end of the chain." At this he yanked her forcefully back to him despite her cries. He forced her back to him then used the chain to throw her body to the wall at the other end of the room, enjoying her pained cries as her body slammed on the hard rocks. As Lucy curled her body protectively upon itself, she felt the breath get knocked out of her as Jackal's foot slammed on her side.

"Take that you little bitch." He growled out, throwing another well aimed kick to her side, ignoring the way the young girl was now coughing out blood. His eyes glittered even more as he kneeled down before her and took a swipe off the drops of blood that was now on the floor. He licked the blood off his finger and felt energy surge through his body, he smiled at the feeling before clutching the blonde girl's hair and yanked her up to face him.

"I'm sorry… I really shouldn't roughen you up before I drain you…" he chuckled as he wiped the blood off her lips, "After all it would be a waste of this exquisite fluid." At this, he dropped her and stood up and shut the door with a loud bang, its sound covering up the hushed sound of the young woman crying and coughing inside her prison.

Lucy wrapped her arms tightly around her as she cried.

" _Natsu…"_

* * *

Jackal strode on the grounds until he met with Keyes, "Is it ready?"

The man wearing a skeletal mask continued with his work and merely nodded, "Almost ready. With this we would be able to siphon the maiden's blood and infuse it to you."

The brown haired man merely smiled. "Good. Let me know when can we start." His hands clenched on his sides, euphoric that finally after all these years he would be able to finally succeed in gaining a celestial maiden's blood.

After nearly twenty years, he has finally gotten his hands on a celestial maiden… he grinned as he watched Keyes complete the ceremonial circle, and to think he would get the daughter of the maiden that had escaped him all those years ago.

He lifted his fisted hand to his face, he may be part demon but for some reason it was not enough to defeat that damned clan, Fairy Tail. Back then he had faced off with Igneel, now, it was with his son. Dark eyes watched as the circle slowly became complete. Things were about to change now… once he gained the powers of the heavens, nothing was going to stop him.

As the circle glowed brightly in completion, he turned towards one of the guards with him, "Bring the girl out."

"Are you sure about this?"

Jackal snickered as he heard Keyes question. "I have no doubts. I want that maiden's power." Both of their heads turned at the screams as the woman was dragged out by two soldiers.

Keyes slowly approached the girl and observed her, brown eyes glared mutinously at him. He nodded towards the two men holding her, "Tie her up in the middle of the circle." He stepped back as the girl struggled in their hands, standing beside Jackal, "Considering that she's a celestial maiden, she has a lot of strength in her."

Jackal grinned evilly, "Which is why I have a feeling I'll get a lot out of this girl."

"What about Fairy Tail?"

Jackal snorted, "They've lost the game. They won't interfere with this, and the Amachi clan only has limited means of staying here in the human realm, they can't touch us."

"Isn't she Fairy Tail's responsibility? You know how tenacious that clan is."

Jackal grinned diabolically, "Let them come. Once I drain this girl, I don't mind testing my powers out on Salamander." He stepped forward as he watched Lucy writhe as she was held up in the air within the ceremonial circle.

"You really look like your mother."

Despite the fear that filled her brown eyes, her head snapped to meet his own dark orbs as he continued to observe the girl in the circle.

"My mother…?"

He grinned, "Layla... if I remember it correctly, she had the same shade of blonde hair as yours, and you have your father's eyes." At her shocked stare he chuckled wickedly, "I remember your father well, he tried protecting your mother… uselessly. He could barely handle a sword, however, if it wasn't for him, your mother wouldn't have had the chance to run away… you were that baby she tried protecting, weren't you?"

The young woman bound inside the circle gaped at his words for a few seconds before she realized what he was saying, she then let out an ear-splitting scream, "You murderer!"

Jackal laughed out loud at her reaction, "Your mother escaped but I still get you. Full circle, right?" he stepped back as Lucy continued to scream at him, tears falling down her beautiful face.

Lucy fought against the bonds that held her tight, wanting to jump out and strangle the demon standing in front of her. Her screams of rage turned into anguish as the Keyes began the ceremony that would drain her of her life blood. Lucy continued to fight against the ropes despite the pain that was lancing throughout her body. As another surge of energy passed through her body, she let out another ear-splitting scream in pain.

Jackal laughed out loud as he felt energy surge through him, his laughter mixing with her screams before he turned his head to the side when they heard pandemonium from the gates outside their compound. He scowled at one of the guards, "Check what that's about." Turning to Keyes, he yelled out "hurry it up!"

Just as Keyes continued with his chanting, the circle shone brighter as Lucy's desolate scream echoed in the grounds, just as he was about to complete the spell to drain the maiden, he felt something go through him before he choked on his own blood. Dropping down on his knees, he watched as Jackal screamed in rage when two swordsmen rushed by, one of them rushing right into the circle slashing through the bonds holding the young woman up. As she dropped to the ground, he caught her effortlessly while the other man faced off with Jackal.

* * *

Natsu breathed in deeply as he stood in the shadows watching the lair of Tartaros, hands clenched on the sword on his side.

"We really need to have a plan before we charge in there."

His cold green eyes met the blue eyes of his companion who scratched his head. "I know it was our job to protect her, but we'll only get ourselves killed and end up not saving her if we just rush in there."

"Then wait for Erza." He answered simply.

Gray groaned, "You idiot. You think we'll leave you to do this alone?"

"Then quit harping."

The blue eyed samurai growled in irritation before he sighed. As soon as Natsu found out who had been taken away, he had immediately rushed off despite Erza's orders. He, along with Loke and Gajeel hurried to follow him despite Wendy and Porlyusca's instructions to stay.

"So, we barge in?"

Natsu looked at Gajeel before he nodded, he stiffened when he heard a blood curling scream from inside the compound.

The three men looked at one another before they gaped at Natsu who had sped down the hill and straight into the lair of Tartaros, "What the fuck?! Natsu! Wait!" Gray swore succinctly, speeding down the hill after the hot headed assassin.

Natsu unsheathed his katana and quickly slashed down the two guards who were at the gates, his heart pounding loudly when he heard the same voice reverberate through the night. In his mind's eye he heard a vibrant young woman laugh as she turned to look at him, eyes twinkling happily, lips open in an enthusiastic laugh.

 _Lucy_

Making his way into the compound, his movement was quick and efficient as he slashed members of the Tartaros clan left and right. He sensed Gray and the others behind him as he quickly made his way to the origin of the screams. He ducked when a katana swiped near his head, moving to the side, he quickly slashed the man from neck to hip, blood splattering all over him as he hurried towards the edge of the compound.

He stood in shock the moment he arrived at edge of the compound, behind him he felt his companions skid to a stop and heard Loke swear. His eyes narrowed in rage as he quickly assessed the situation. Quickly running his katana at the back of the masked man who was busily chanting before making his way to the middle of the circle and slashing the bonds that held the screaming blonde up in the air. Just as her body fell, he efficiently caught her and cradled her worn body to his own, gently brushing the blonde strands away from her sweating face.

"Lucy…"

His iridescent green eyes gleamed in the night as he watched his guild mates counter Jackal. He knew that he would have a score to settle with the other assassin, but for now, his priority was the woman trembling in his arms. He looked back down at her and softly called her name, willing her to take notice of him.

"Lucy, open your eyes."

Lucy gasped as the pain slowly ebbed away from her body, she felt the ties around her go slack before she fell to the ground. But instead of feeling the rough hard ground, she felt something firm and warm wrap itself around her form. Felt gentle hands brush away the loose strands of her hair away from her face. When she heard his voice, she wanted nothing but to answer him and open her eyes, however, due to the magic that was coursing through her body, she could only curl her body, shuddering in pain as the bonds slowly faded.

When she heard him call her name for the second time, she forced her eyes open until she could meet with his worried green irises. Her frame slowly relaxing, her senses fully acknowledging his presence.

"Natsu…"

The rose haired samurai smiled gently when he heard her gravelly voice, he looked deeply into her eyes before wrapping his arms around her tightly. "I'm here." His hands fisted on the material of her robes as her frame slowly shuddered with her breath before being wracked by heartfelt sobs, felt her hands frantically grasping his gi as she cried.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…"

Natsu smiled into her soft hair, "I understand…" but before he could say anything else to comfort the celestial maiden, the sounds of steel clashing together as well as the shouts of his companions disrupted them. His arms tightened around the young woman as he slowly pushed her behind him, his head lifting from her neck and meeting that of gleaming onyx orbs.

"I told you before, this one's mine, Salamander."

Natsu grinned dangerously, his own green irises gleaming coldly, "Too bad, she's already mine." He taunted just as equally, slowly standing up, gripping his own blade tighter in his hand.

Jackal sneered at him, "Really now?" he twirled his katana around, "Breaking her will make things much more interesting."

"You can try." Was all the rose haired man said before he launched himself towards the brown haired assassin.

Lucy watched in fear as both men faced off, their swords glinting in the night. Her hands fisted on her hagoromo watching the man she loved fighting the demon of Tartaros. Her heart pounding loudly in her chest, afraid of what her blood had done to the demon. She screamed Natsu's name out loud when in an instant Jackal disappeared before him. As Natsu collapsed, he held his side that was now bleeding from the side slash he had received.

Natsu swore as he continued to hold his bleeding side, breathing in deeply trying to figure out what had happened, for some reason, his opponent seemed to have gotten stronger and faster than he usually was. He gripped his katana tighter as he pushed himself to stand up, ignoring the echoing laughter of Jackal echoing in the night.

"What do you think, son of Igneel?" Jackal sneered as he watched his bleeding rival. "If I had gotten my hands on this maiden's mother, maybe I would have been able to kill your father." He laughed uproariously as he watched the shocked reaction on Natsu's face. "But then again, I think it's better this way. I get the maiden's daughter, which I might say, she has quite a flavour," he snickered at Natsu's growl as he licked his lips, "and I get to kill you."

Jackal then disappeared and Natsu's eye sharpened in concentration before he raised his own katana to block the sword coming down on his neck. He grunted in effort as he brought his face close to Jackal's "We'll see whose head will roll." The other man merely grinned in glee, their swords meeting and resounding with a clash. Natsu's body graceful in battle as he parried and countered the attacks of the Tartaros demon despite his injuries. He gripped the handle of his katana tighter in his hand just as he got thrown back after a strong kick from his side, rolling on the hard ground before coming to a stop, his back hitting a tree. His eyes snapped open when he felt the air current around him change but before he could counter, he felt another strong kick to his side, rolling again on the ground before he felt something cold across his back at the same time. He panted as he fisted his hand on the ground, coughing up blood.

 _How the hell did he become this strong? I have to do something… or else… Lucy…._

He coughed again when Jackal threw another vicious kick to his wounded side, laying on his side, he could hear his comrades scream his name, hear her scream his name… pleading for the other man to stop. Before he could move he felt gentle hands on his shoulders, wrapping her arms around his neck as she sobbed his name.

Lucy sobbed uncontrollably while she watched Natsu fight, obvious that he would not be able to win the fight with Jackal after his skills got enhanced with her celestial blood. When he got thrown near her, blood pouring down from his wounds, she ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Please leave…" she sobbed softly into his hair, heedless of the blood that was now seeping into her own robes.

Natsu smiled grimly as he laid his head on her chest, "What makes you think I'll leave you here all alone." He whispered

Lucy sobbed harder, shaking her head frantically, "You're no match for him… he's too powerful now."

He groaned, gripping her arm as he pushed himself up, looking up to her tear-stained face. "I can kill him. Trust me, Luce."

Lucy sobbed even more at his words, _I can't let him die… not like this. Not because of me._ She fisted her hands on his back before surprising the man in her arms as well as the people around them when she grabbed his katana and quickly ran it through her wrist.

Natsu gasped when Lucy grabbed his sword, he was too weak to react until she slit her wrist before him, "What the hell?! Lucy!" he chocked just as she grabbed his head and forced her bleeding wrist to his own lips. His eyes widened in surprise, meeting her gentle brown eyes. "At least now, you'll be at par with him." came the soft whisper.

He heard Jackal's enraged shout as he moved to attack them, only to be intercepted by both Laxus and Erza who had arrived at the scene. Natsu tried to move his mouth away from her wrist when he saw that she was beginning to pale before him but she persisted. He could feel his wounds healing, energy spiking in his body as her blood washed over him. When he was able to force his lips away from her arm, catching her as she fell limply in his arms.

"Lucy!" his anguished scream echoed into the night as the woman he loved lay still in his arms. He cradled her gently in his arms, she coughed before meeting his gaze, "A celestial blood can enhance a human's inherent ability... it's the same with demons." She closed her eyes briefly, coughing fitfully, "At least now, you can defeat him."

"Not like this!" he screamed, "I can't lose you!"

Her soft brown eyes smiled gently up at his anguished face, "Aquarius is right, we can't be together…"

"Damn it Lucy! Don't you dare!"

"At least… I get to protect you."

At her whispered words, her eyes fluttered close. Natsu gaped at her still form before he screamed to the heavens, his anguished screams mixing that with Jackal's enraged howl. He wrapped her tightly to his chest as he felt someone come close to him, he lifted his head and saw Mira's tear filled gaze. He looked down at her pale countenance, gently brushing his hands over her face. He then gently transferred her to the silver haired woman, staring at the blood stained hagoromo and lifted it off her body. He slowly tied the robe on his waist as he stood.

Looking up, his green irises glinted coldly in the dark night as he let his own demons take over him.

"For her pain, I will return it back to you a thousand times over."

Jackal shook with fury as he stood before the man called Salamander. His eyes spitting in barely concealed rage.

 _That damned woman poured out her life blood for him... she gave Salamander what was supposed to be mine. His hands clenched tightly on the hilt of his katana, if those damned fairies had not tried to intervene, he could have taken it all._

He watched the younger man for a few minutes before he smiled in maniacal glee. "I guess this make it better..." he twirled his katana in his hand, positioning himself to attack, "Now we'll see who's the last man standing."

In a glance, Jackal disappeared before the quiet Salamander before reappearing on his side, his sword arm falling towards Natsu's neck. The younger man merely glanced at him before disappearing from his position surprising the demon. Jackal snapped his head to side just as Natsu appeared beside him sword drawn, he quickly moved to parry, steel clashing and sparking in the dark night. As Jackal rushed towards Natsu, the rose haired samurai merely pivoted on his foot, the flat edge of his blade clashing with Jackal's before coming into full circle, slamming his katana on the demon's back, leaving a deep slash running through him. Blood dripping from the wound and into the ground.

Jackal hissed at the cut but ignored it as he glared at Natsu, launching himself forward with a yell. Natsu met him halfway swords clashing into the night. Mira along with the rest of Fairy Tail watched the bloody battle between the two adversaries, all shocked to see how fast and how powerful both men are. Her shaking hands clutched tightly at the young woman lying in her arms. Tears fell from her eyes as she continued to watch the battle before them, silently praying for her friends safety... knowing full well that his grief and rage has been channelled into this fight.

She started when she felt someone collapse by her side, her hand immediately going to the sword lying down by her side until she saw the grief stricken face of Loke as he held Lucy's hand in his own.

Loke stared in disbelief as he looked at Lucy. At a glance one would think that she was merely sleeping if it were not for the blood that soaked her kimono as well as the blood that trickled from her wrist. He clenched his hands in fury... he failed, yet again. It was Layla before... now it was Lucy. Tears fell unabashed from his face as he curled on the ground near her body. As the sounds of battle raged on, Loke lifted his head to watch Natsu battle on with Jackal.

"What the hell happed to these two? They're acting like demons."

Loke watched the battling assassins and answered Gray's comment monotonously. "This is what can be gained from taking in a celestial blood."

Mira's eyes widened. "So, the rumors were true... the Amachi clan really are celestial people... then that means," her shocked eyes dropped down to the young woman lying on her lap.

"Lucy is the daughter of a celestial maiden and a human."

Their eyes then snapped to both men fighting, "Jackal took in part of Lucy's blood, and she forced her blood on Natsu…"

"Both of them are practically equal now, the question is, who will be the last man standing in this battle."

Natsu flipped over Jackal and slashed his back before pivoting again to meet his sword halfway, metal clashing into one another, both men straining to push the other back. Natsu's eyes glittered in the dark, face expressionless, his muscles locking as he pushed the demon back. Jackal on the other hand grinned maniacally while he continued to push his body forward, sword locked against the other, laughing madly as both men jumped back before rushing forward. Lunging at his opponent, he quickly transferred his katana from his right hand to his left, catching the other man in surprise as his sword pierced his upper arm.

Holding his bleeding arm, he kept his eye trained on the deranged demon that was now circling him. Both of them will not leave this battle unscathed, blood dripping down their wounds on to the dusty ground. They stood still for a second before they moved, their movements quick and precise and fast… so fast that they nearly blurred in their speed. Natsu gritted his teeth as he quickly maneuvered from one technique to another, not letting Jackal enough time to react and to break free from his attacks. At his last blow, Jackal crashed into the ground with Natsu standing before him, breathing deeply. Ignoring the pain in his body, he lifted the katana to his face and gripped it tighter in his hand.

"Let's finish this."

In a rage, Jackal screamed before rushing towards the young man, his katana poised before him and lunged into a thrust. Natsu narrowly avoided this as he closed his eyes and let his other senses guide him. As he moved, it was as if everything moved in slow motion. Just as he avoided Jackal's attack, his sword arm lifted and slowly moved towards Jackal's side. It successfully pierced his body from the side then continued the movement up, his katana slashing him from hip to his upper torso before pulling his katana out, blood splashing on to him, the demon's eyes wide in shock, his own green irises glinted back at him.

"This is for Lucy."

With that, he quickly drove his katana to his chest then slashed up. He watched emotionlessly as he watched the other man drop lifelessly to the ground, blood dripping from his katana and pooling around Jackal's body. It was finally over. He swiped his katana in the air, ridding it of the blood before sheathing it back into its saya. Breathing in deeply, trying to ignore the pain in his body, he slowly turned towards where his friends were, where the blonde woman was laying on the ground. He was faintly aware of the sounds of the echoing battle as Tartaros slowly fell into collapse before Fairy Tail.

He dropped onto his knees, tears falling from his eyes as he caressed her soft face in his blood stained hand. "Open your eyes you weirdo." He whispered, blood from his hand dripped onto her pristine face. He growled when arms lifted her prone body up before stopping. His green eyes widened when he eyed the tall man in a black gi and hakama cradle the young woman in his arms, eyes looking down at him kindly.

"We will be taking our Lady back…"

Loke tried to stand as he watched Capricorn take Lucy in his arms, "What…" the other spirit merely smiled sadly before answering him, "The spirit king sent me here."

The orange haired man breathed in deeply before nodding, shakily standing up beside his comrade. He looked at the bleeding samurai whose eyes were filled with distraught as he watched the blonde girl in Capricorn's arms. "We thank you for saving her from these demons," he smiled ruefully, "Now I know why she chose you."

Natsu numbly looked at the two men and watched as they walked deep into the forest before his eyes blurred and darkness slowly claimed him. The last thing he heard was Mira and Gray's anxious shout of his name... but in his mind, he could only think was how he lost her.

 _Again._


End file.
